Their presentations at ASLO will address social and ecological changes; ecosystem vulnerability, resilience and adaptability; and why long-term data are essential to understanding and predicting future responses to natural and human-caused environmental changes.

A special session will bring researchers together to report on the effects of the El Niño of 2015-2016, among the strongest environmental events on record in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño affected species from tropical coral reefs to northern plankton communities. The results offer insights into the future responses of marine ecosystems to such events.

Links to these and other NSF LTER presentations at ASLO are listed below. The meeting will be held in Honolulu.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, its budget is $7.8 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.